The energy industry and, sadly, a lot of people in government who should know better, have sold the public on the lie that hydraulic fracturing -- "fracking, "hydrofracking" -- will solve all our energy demands, make the USofA "energy independent," and lead us into a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey and cheap gas.
Horseshit. (Can I say that on Kos?)
I've recently read three books and am now re-reading and studying them. I recommend these for anyone who wants to know what fracking is all about and what it can, cannot, and will not do for us. I purchased extra copies of these books and donated them to my local library.
"Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know" is a book by Alex Prud'homme, who has written for the NYT and other publications, mainly on environmental issues. This book is very straightforward. Prud'homme describes what Hydraulic fracturing is, how it works, what it does above and below ground. He lays out in neutral language the science and engineering. He presents the views of proponents and opponents. By the end of the book, you have enough information to reach your own conclusions.
"Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future," by Richard Heinberg. According to the blurb on the book jacket, Heinberg is "A Senior Fellow at Post Carbon Institute, he is one of the world's foremost energy educators and communicators about the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels." As you might guess, this book is NOT supportive of hydraulic fracturing, however, it's not a shrieking, raving denunciation. Instead, the book is a thorough analysis -- economic and environmental -- of shale gas and shale oil that addresses the question of whether or not fracking is "a miracle cure-all for our energy needs, or, just another distraction from getting on with the work of reducing our fossil fuel dependence."
"Drill, Baby, Drill: Can Unconventional Fuels usher in a New Era of Energy Independence, " by J. David Hughes of the Post Carbon Institute. This is NOT an easy book to read; in fact, you don't read it so much as study it. Every page of the book is a chart, graph, map, or photo that examines the data showing production trends and co constraints of current and future fuels. At first read, your eyes will glaze over. The second time you go through it, you won't sleep nights. This book -- actually, a report by Post Carbon Institute -- is available in PDF.
Just my $0.02 worth.